How to make Costa’s Viral Hot Chocolate at home for only 85p

Interest in hot chocolate is spiking as Christmas approaches and the temperature drops. Analysis of Google Trends by Financial World shows that Google searches for “hot chocolate” have steadily increased since Autumn began, with a 114% increase in searches since September. In related terms, “Costa” and “Costa Hot Chocolate” are the most searched related queries, with “Costa Hot Chocolate” seeing a 120% increase in google searches in the last 30 days alone. Costa’s Toblerone-inspired hot chocolate is one of the breakout related queries, recording a 639% increase in searches in the last 30 days.  

ustomers will spend £4.60 for a small size cup of Costa’s Toblerone-inspired hot chocolate, with the non-dairy small costing £5.05. For regular-size cups, the cost rises to £4.90 for dairy and £5.35 for the plant-based version. The drink costs an additional 10p on Uber Eats and Deliveroo for dairy or plant-based variants of the drink at any cup size. This excludes the cost of delivery.   

Money experts, Financial World have calculated how much it would cost to make your own Toblerone Hot Chocolate at home for a fraction of the cost of a store-bought cup.  

Altogether, it costs £0.85 to make the Toblerone-inspired hot chocolate at home with whole or semi-skimmed milk, which is £3.75 (83%) cheaper than the store-bought version. Surprisingly, making it plant-based costs less than the dairy version when you make it at home, averaging out at £0.78 per cup, which is £4.30 (85%) cheaper than Costa’s.

Ingredient List: 

1. 1 tbsp Hot chocolate powder – 9p 

2. 240ml Whole Milk / Plant-based alternative – 37p* 

3. 1 tbsp Honey – 3p  

4. 30g Toblerone – 28p 

5. 1 tbsp Cream (for topping) – 7p 

*240ml of the reviewed plant-based alternatives cost 27p on average. 

Steps:   

1. Measure out all the ingredients (except the cream) into a medium saucepan. Heat at medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until it starts to come to a boil. The Toblerone chocolate should be completely melted, although there will still be some bits of the signature Toblerone white nougat visible. You can pour the hot chocolate through a fine mesh sieve to strain them out, or simply leave them in. 

2. Pour into your favourite mug and top with a generous squirt of spray cream or a tablespoon of whipped cream. Enjoy! 

END 

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Component	Portion per cup	Aldi £	Product weight	Price per drink	Tesco £	Product Weight	Price per drink	Average Price
Hot chocolate powder	1 tbsp	1.19	400g	0.04	3.00	300g	0.14	0.09
Whole/Semi-Skimmed Milk	240ml	0.89	568ml	0.38	0.89	568ml	0.38	0.38
Almond/Oat Milk	240ml	0.85/0.99	1000ml	0.24	1.15/1.30	1000ml	0.31	0.27
Honey	1 tbsp	0.75	340g	0.03	0.75	340g	0.03	0.03
Whipped cream (for topping)	1tbsp	1.05	250g	0.06	1.45	250g	1.08	0.07
Toblerone	30g	3.29	400g	0.25	3.50	340g	0.31	0.28
Total (Dairy)		7.17		0.76	9.03		0.89	0.85
Total (Plant Based)		7.27		0.62	9.44		0.73	0.75

Products Used: 

1. Costa Hot Chocolate / Choceur Instant Hot Chocolate Drink 

2. Dairy Milk – McCallums Scottish Organic Semi-Skimmed Milk / Tesco Semi-Skimmed Milk 

3. Plant-based alternative – Acti Leaf UHT Oat Drink / Tesco Oat Drink 

4. Honey – Everyday Essentials Clear Honey / Stockwell & Co Honey 

5. Toblerone bars – Moser Roth Milk Chocolate Mountain Bar / Toblerone Milk 

6. Cream (for topping) – Cowbelle Original Real Dairy Cream / Food Heaven Whipped Spray Cream Vegan

Credit to financial-world.org.